The Enticing End
by tropical711
Summary: Short chapters. Full of surprises. Try it you'll like it! My first fanfic, be easy...
1. If you can't beat them

Authors note: As you've probably noticed, this is a sequel to The Penultimate Peril. Also, it's my first fanfic so try not to be too hard on me. I know it seems really rushed but it gets better; I'd love it if you read and offered me suggestions.

The small wooden boat bobbed gently up and down on the sea swells.

"Tee hee tortle tickle," Count Olaf laughed. "Ho ho humphrey sniggle."

Klaus Baudelaire rolled his eyes up towards Count Olaf. "I thought you discarded your new criminal laugh before you reached Hotel Denoument," He said.

"How can a boy who reads so many books be so stupid?" Count Olaf questioned, "When I have achieved a particular triumph, I celebrate with my fabulous laugh! Triumphs such as finding you Baudelaire brats on a submarine and pulling you into my clutches, or Oho! Even better! Triumphs such as turning my worst enemies into my mini henchmen! Heh heh hexagon! Wah hah wafflemaker..."

But the Baudelaires weren't listening to Count Olaf's ridiculous laughter. What he'd said had hit them like a harpoon gun to the heart. The crimes they'd committed so recently were swimming in their minds.

Olaf noticed that their attention was elswhere and he turned to face then with that very famous evil shining glint in his eye and a grin on his face revealing his discolored teeth.

"Well Baudelaires, if you can't beat' em, join' em!" And he erupted into a fresh series of laughter.


	2. Shocking news

"Baudelaires, I always wondered why you tried to do the right thing when in the end good and evil always seem to unite as one. So, I am evil because I am a murderer, arsonist, and I try to steal thing from people. So what does that make you? Hoo Hah higgle dee. You lit a hotel on fire, murdered Dewey Denouement and surely several other people, and stole keys from Hal.

The Baudelaires were speechless. They'd had valid reasons for doing the things they'd done but still felt more guilt and sadness than Count Olaf ever would have felt for his crimes.

"Well Baudelaires, I am going to tell you a story. The main characters are none other than your parents, whose death lead to your awful lives. And I'm in it of course, because a story isn't worth hearing if it doesn't involve me. So the story goes like this. I was once a boy. I know it is revolting and very hard to believe.

He paused for a dramatic effect, stroked his stubbly chin, and continued.

"Well, one night my parents, who were volunteers, went to a VFD gathering at the Westfield Library. That was the last time I saw them. I was young, confused, angry. I set out to avenge their death. For many long years, I researched VFD and the cause of their death until at last I'd put together all the pieces of the puzzle and this is what it spelled out to me. At the gathering many years ago, Mr. and Mrs. Olaf had been shot down after being accused of being spies. They were shot down by none other than Mr. Baudelaire. So I murdered the Baudelaires. Don't you understand? Life follows a vicious cycle and there is no escape. I wasn't always the notorious villain that I am today. What use to be a large family of volunteers was destroyed when the schism came about. I may sympathize for you, which means understand how you feel but…"

"Actually, the word is empathize," Klaus cut in.

Count Olaf ignored him and continued, "But don't start thinking that this will change anything. I am still going to murder you painfully and steal you enormous fortune.


	3. Deja Vu

A sharp cold sea breeze picked up, and the Baudelaire siblings moved closer to one another. The wind wasn't the only thing sending chills up their spines. Each had their own troubling thoughts to contend with.

Violet was thinking about their parents in a way she'd never thought about them before, Dewey Denouement and her part in his death, Quigley Quagmire; whether she'd ever see him again, Count Olaf; was there more to him than greed, villainy, and a very strong aroma of body odor, dirt, and spicy Indian food? And finally, she was thinking about whether or not she'd be able to invent a way to escape from the boat with her siblings.

Klaus was thinking about his parents and if he'd ever feel the same about them, Count Olaf and how much he had in common with the Baudelaires, but, Klaus thought thankfully, Klaus had his sisters to help him through their adverse lives. He was thinking about the Quagmires, namely Isadora, the sugar bowl, the mysterious underwater catalogue, and whether or not any of his research could help their situation at all.

Sunny was thinking about her regrettable arson and treatment to Justice Strauss who was one of the few good people in her life, Dewey Denouement, Count Olaf, whether there was any food on the boat for her to cook, and if there was anything nice to bite. Speaking of biting…

"Did you feel that?" Count Olaf barked suddenly alert. The siblings stirred from their deep trances. "It can't be what I think it is, can it?"

"Well," Violet started, "that depends what you think…" but she stopped mid sentence, and as she looked into the water, she knew it was exactly what Count Olaf thought it was. Her siblings followed her gaze and stared in horror.

"Déjà vu," Sunny whispered, as an unfortunate event from their past replayed before their eyes.


	4. Lachrymose Leeches

"BANG" the leeches rammed into the boat with such force that the four people had to use their weight to keep it from overturning.

"Has anyone…eaten… anything lately?" Klaus asked distractedly.

"No," Violet answered.

"Nah," Sunny replied.

"Of course" Olaf responded, "Villainy is hard work, so you have to keep the carbs up" I had a delicious Indian dish for less than an hour ago and…"

"Please tell me you're joking," Violet said.

"I could tell you that, but it'd be a lie. Not that lying is an issue for me."

"There are no materials on this boat! I can't invent anything!"

"What I don't understand," Klaus said, "Is that according to everything I've ever read, leeches can't survive in saltwater! I thought we were in the sea! Sea currents never take you back to a lake!"

"Actually, we weren't at sea to begin with, Baudelaires. Mua ha marshmallow!"

"Why laugh he?" Sunny said in her improved speech, meaning "How can he be laughing in the given situation?"

"Don't you understand that were all about to die Olaf?" Violet asked.

"Of course were not going to die!" He snapped. "I've tried to kill you countless times and you always escape! Why should I worry when I know you'll find a way out?"

"BANG!" In perfect formation and unison, the leeches hit the boat again with their sharp teeth.

"You know, they really are quite clever," Olaf observed.

"Sadly, that's no advantage to us," Klaus pointed out as the leeches turned, swam out, turned back and gathered speed towards the boat.

"BANG!"

"Split," Sunny said, meaning "It's only a matter of time before they make a hole in the boat and it sinks and we all get eaten" and she was right. As the leeches crashed into the boat with the largest bang yet, a leak fountained through the bottom of the boat. And as with countless times before, the Baudelaires found themselves in the belly of the beast. But to anyone who's read the first 12 books, you'll know that Count Olaf was right. The Baudelaires were very slippery, clever children. Slippery can refer to a smooth clean surface that you are likely to slip and fall on if you are running about with socks on, or it can refer to a wet bar of soap that pops out of your hand as you pick it up. But it can also refer to three children who have a unique talent for finding their way of extreme circumstances due to a mixture of quick thinking, talent, and luck. So although the Baudelaires were possibly the most unlucky children in the world, they were still alive and that made them lucky in their own way.


	5. A change of Fate

"Violet, look at that!" Klaus exclaimed, squinting into the sky and shielding his eyes with his hand.

"Now's not the time," she replied sharply.

He smiled over at her. "There couldn't be a better time Violet." Violet lifted her head to look into the sky and she smiled back at Klaus. Sunny turned to smile at Klaus and Violet.

"Baudelaires, I thought we'd never see you again!" Isadora shouted down from the hot air mobile home. "We'll save you from Count Olaf just as you did for us!"

"Actually, we have more pressing matters than Count Olaf at the moment," Klaus shouted up, "as we are about to be eaten by the Lachrymose Leeches"

"Well then," Duncan said, "We'll waste no time!" He tossed down a long rope. Klaus took hold first, and Violet grasped the rope beneath him. Violet used one of her hands to support Sunny up beneath her. "All set?" Duncan asked, and he began to raise the hot air mobile home.

"Wait!" Count Olaf shouted, and he grabbed on the small bit of leftover rope. "You didn't think you could just leave me in this boat to be eaten by leeches, did you? Think of all we've been through together Baudelaires."

Duncan and Isadora began to pull in the rope, inch by inch. "I don't think we can do it!" Isadora gasped after a few minutes more pulling and no progress being made. "It's too heavy! And we don't have much time!" She was right, the leeches were making more progress than Duncan and Isadora were as they jumped higher and higher out of the water trying to reach the rope and then eat their way towards the mobile home.

"Solution," Sunny said, meaning "There is only one solution to this problem". With a look of mixed emotions on her face, she turned down to Count Olaf. "Bye Bye Countie" And she bit the rope beneath her.

"NO," he screamed as he realized what she was doing, but it was too late. He plummeted towards the black waters beneath them, and hit the water with a huge splash. The leeches attacked him with sickening crunching sounds. For all the tragedy Olaf had burdened the Baudelaires with, it was a justified end. He left their lives just as he'd entered; swiftly and unwanted.

Sunny looked up towards her siblings. Her eyes were asking them whether she did the right thing. Violet smiled sadly at her. "It's okay Sunny. It was his lives or ours. He took our parents, he took a good part of our childhood, and he tried many times to take our fortune. We're destined for bigger and better things, so we mustn't dwell on this. It may not have been the right choice, but it was the only choice. The two Quagmires raised the Baudelaires into the hot air mobile home and they all embraced each other. Nobody spoke of what had just happened because they all understood in their own way that it had to be done.

"We are so happy to see you again, and we have wonderful news for you!" Klaus said. "But where is Hector?"

Isadora and Duncan exchanged sad looks. "You see, the thing about that is that….well, Hector died. He was so good to us, and we never even got a chance to thank him. Hector was an old man, and we woke one morning to find him dead in his bed. We couldn't land the mobile home, so to make the situation worse we had to toss him into the sea. I'm sorry to have to tell you this.

"It's better to know" Violet replied.

"On a happier note, what was the news you have for us?" Duncan asked.

"Quigley no die!" Sunny Shouted.

The Quagmires stared at the Baudelaires for some sign of deceit. When they realized it was no joke they were ecstatic. They screamed and danced and hugged and sang and smiled and laughed and screamed some more. "We always had a small flame of hope that he'd survived," Isadora said, tears leaking from her eyes. "But where is he?"

"I'm sorry to say that we lost him where the stricken stream forked and never saw him since". The Quagmires looked at Klaus in confusion. It's a long story he said. But I'm sure we have time to explain. He smiled, and his gaze lingered on Isadora for a second too long. She caught his gaze, and smiled back at him.

"We have a dinner cooking, and I imagine you three must be very hungry. Why don't we go sit down? The 5 of them walked to the table and sat down to a dinner of chicken and rice, and they spent the night and early hours of dawn filling each other in on what had happened since they last saw each other. With their minds full and their eyelids drooping, they each fell into a deep and undisturbed sleep.


	6. An early start

Klaus awoke the next morning to find light streaming through the windows into the Hector's old bedroom of the hot air mobile where he, sunny, and Violet were sleeping. He looked over at the blurred numbers on the clock as he fumbled for his glasses. He put them on the the bright red numbers 10:24 blinked before his eyes. He rolled over and stood up, walking towards the sitting room where he expected to find his two siblings and two friends. He entered the room to find a head of dark hair, draped softly over the back a chair. She slowly looked over her shoulder and smiled up towards him.

"Hi Klaus," Isadora said gently, "Did you sleep well?"

"Honestly, I haven't slept well for years, ever since my parents death."

"Well, we have that in common," She assured him. She ran her eyes over Klaus. "Duncan and I hardly recognized you, violet, and Sunny when we found you yesterday," she said quietly. "You're…not the same. You're older, and you and Violet seem thin, not just physically, it seems like your worn thin, from stress. And in you eyes, I see tragedy and sadness cutting in. Are you…okay?"

"We're okay," Klaus promised her with a small but honest smile. "I can't deny that we've suffered. But we're going to be okay now that we've found you. I mean you and Duncan" he added lamely.

"Okay." Isadora stood up and wrapped her arms around Klaus's waist. She leant in towards him and whispered "I missed you" into his ear before releasing him. He felt goose bumps rise on his back where her arms had touched him.

_You mean so much to me_

_You came and set me free_

Klaus squeezed her hand lightly in response. He loved her couplets. Sweet and short.

Just then, Violet and Sunny walked in.

"Morning," Violet's voice rang out, "have you two been up long?" They sharply broke their eye contact.

"No, not long"

"What brekkie?" Sunny asked, meaning something like " What would you guys say to having some breakfast?"

"We'd love that Sunny" Isadora replied.

Just then, Duncan walked in. He paused to yawn and stretch his arms into the air. "Hey sleepy head" Isadora said, laughing, "Sunny is going to cook us some breakfast."

"Sounds good"

All five friends pitched in to help make a breakfast of assorted frozen foods. As they sat down to eat, Violet blurted out the question that each one of them had been pondering.

"Okay guys, I'm sure I'm not the only one wondering how we're going to land this aircraft which wasn't built to ever be landed. I mean, how long can we live off freezer foods?"

"It's already been about a year" Duncan replied. What I would do for some fresh fruit…

"Amazing. Well I am going to have to start working on an invention. But first, lets eat!"


End file.
